Family stories and research stories that tell the tale of my personal research. If you have a similar family line or want to know more. Please contact me!

Wednesday, October 9, 2013

Grandpa's Glasses

Frank Stewart Johnson - About 1975

I have never forgotten that September day in 1975. I was home from school sick…which was a
pretty rare occurrence. Mom had me
ensconced on the couch with a blanket and a glass of squirt when the phone
rang. I could tell from Mom’s face that
it was bad news. She did something that
I had never seen her do…she called my Dad out at work. About a half hour later, Dad was home and
they were packing getting ready to leave.
My Dad’s father had died that morning and the only thing that my parents
were thinking about was getting to Canby, OR as fast as they could, so they
could be with my grandmother. Plans were
made for my great uncle to bring us down the next day, but they never came to
fruition. I think I went to the
neighbors and within a short amount of time, Mom and Dad were on the road to
Oregon.

I was only 8 years old when Grandpa Frank died. I’m not sure that I really understood the
concept that much, but I knew from the look on my parent’s faces that it was
bad. I really had only been around him a
handful of times in my short life that I remembered. My most vivid memories of him involve candy
and peeling an orange. I can remember on
one occasion when we were visiting my grandparents that we had to go to the
store for something. Once we arrived, my
grandfather handed the list to my father and took my hand and took me over to
the barrels of penny candy. He patiently
helped me pick out a very personal bag of candy of all of my favorites and
another bag for my siblings. I felt
special though…I had my own special bag.
I think that all of Grandpa Frank’s grandchildren got the lesson of
peeling an orange. We would sit on the
floor by the coffee table while he rolled the orange around to soften the peel
and then would peel the orange in one long peel. To this day, when I smell a freshly peeled
orange, I still think of my grandfather.

Once my parents arrived in Canby, OR, my father dove into
the process to help my grandmother deal with the numerous details concerning a
funeral service. When my Grandmother,
Dad and his sisters saw Grandpa Frank, they all agreed that he didn’t quite
look right. They decided that it must be
the glasses. So, a trip was made home to
collect his glasses which were always on top of the fridge. The glasses were added and he looked better…but
still not quite right. But that was the
way it was going to have to be. The next
day dawned and the funeral was held. I
don’t think that there were many of my Grandpa Frank’s family members there, except his sister – since most of them lived in North Dakota. However, my Grandmother’s family showed up in
force.

Later that afternoon, Dad, his
sisters and their spouses sat around the kitchen table with Grandma, talking
about the service and I supposed what needed to be done. As it was time for my Uncle Karl and Aunt
Shirley to depart, Karl walked over to the refrigerator and took his glasses
down from the top and placed them on his face.
Within a few moments, everyone realized that there was a reason that
those glasses hadn't looked quite right – they were Karl’s. Uncle Karl still says to this day, that
Grandpa Frank pulled one over on him. I
suppose it was just the funny coincidence that was needed so everyone could get
a good laugh.

Back in 2006, Grandma made the decision to move Grandpa
Frank and his sister, Mary up to Freeze Cemetery. So, they were exhumed and cremated and
brought up to Idaho for a gathering to bury them in a cemetery that was not
that far from the home where Grandma and Grandpa raised their children. I can remember joking with Karl that we could
still get his glasses back. We had to
explain to some family members what had happened – and once again everyone had
a good laugh about how Uncle Karl’s glasses were buried with Grandpa
Frank.

Taken in 1972 - Grandma & Grandpa in the back - Russ, Chris, Gwenda and myself (Carmen ) in the front!